Paul-Élie Ranson (; 29 March 1861 – 20 February 1909) was a French

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

and writerBenezit Dictionary of Artists
/ref> associated with Les Nabis.

Biography

He was born in

Limoges Limoges ( , , ; , locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region. Situated o ...

. His mother died in childbirth, so he was raised and educated by his grandparents and his father, , a politician who served two terms as Mayor of Limoges. He received his first drawing lessons from his grandfather, Jean-Jacques Maquart, and was enrolled at the École des Beaux-Arts Appliqués à l'Industrie in 1877. In 1884, he married his first cousin, Marie-France Rousseau, and studied for a time at the

École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs The École nationale supérieure des Arts Décoratifs (; ÉnsAD) also known as Arts Decos' and École des Arts décoratifs, is a public grande école of art and design, constituent member of PSL Research University. The school is located in the R ...

before transferring to the

Académie Julian The () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907). The school was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the number and qual ...

, where he studied with Tony Robert-Fleury from 1886 to 1891. In 1888, he became one of the five founding members of "Les Nabis", a group that played a large role in the transition from

Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

to the various styles of

Modern art Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradit ...

. His fellow founders were Paul Sérusier, Henri-Gabriel Ibels, Pierre Bonnard, and Maurice Denis. In 1891, he participated in the Symbolist performances at the Théâtre d'Art, where the poet, Paul Fort, was organizing shows to benefit his fellow poet Paul Verlaine and Paul Gauguin. In 1892, he directed a performance of '' Ubu Roi'' by Alfred Jarry at the Théâtre des Pantins. He also participated in group exhibitions organized by Le Barc de Boutteville, held from 1891 to 1895, as well as at the

Salon des indépendants Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room A drawing room is a room in a house where visitors may be entertained, and an alternative name for a living room. The name i ...

and the Salon de la Libre Esthétique in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

after 1894. That same year, he was able to indulge his life-long interest in

puppetry Puppetry is a form of theatre or performance that involves the manipulation of puppets – wikt:inanimate, inanimate objects, often resembling some type of human or animal figure, that are animated or manipulated by a human called a puppeteer. S ...

by opening a theater, with puppets made by Georges Lacombe. He encountered some difficulties not long after, however, when the death of his stepfather, Charles Rousseau, forced him and Marie to support their own apartment. Ranson's interest in

Theosophy Theosophy is a religious movement established in the United States in the late 19th century. Founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and based largely on her writings, it draws heavily from both older European philosophies such as Neop ...

, magic and

occultism The occult () is a category of esoteric or supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of organized religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving a 'hidden' or 'secret' agency, such as magic and mystic ...

came to set him apart from his fellow Nabis. In 1898, Marie's pregnancy brought more difficulties, as he resented losing his favorite model and frequent collaborator to the duties of motherhood. After 1899, his health began to deteriorate and his paintings changed, coming to focus on mythology, witchcraft and anti-clerical subjects. In 1908, seeing him faced with serious physical and financial problems, his friends in Les Nabis created the

Académie Ranson The Académie Ranson was a private art school founded in 1908 in Paris by the French painter Paul Ranson (1862–1909). History The Académie Ranson was founded in 1908 by Paul Ranson (1862–1909), who himself studied at the Académie Jul ...

, and entrusted him with its management. Marie took over after his death and it survived, in various forms, until 1955. Ranson died of

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often th ...

in 1909 in Paris and was buried in Limoges.

Selected paintings

File:Christ et Buddha by Paul Ranson 1880.JPG, '' Christ and Buddha'', (1880) File:Paesaggio nabi paul ranson.jpg, ''Nabis Landscape'', (1890) File:Les Sorcières autour du feu Paul Ranson PMD 976.3.63.jpg, ''Witches Around the Fire'', (1891) File:Ranson_-_La_Sorcière_au_chat_noir_01.jpg, ''Witch with a Black Cat'', (1893) File:Display image (21).jpg, ''The Blue Room'', () File:Pommier_aux_fruits_rouges,1902,huile_sur_toile,85,1_x_118,7cm.jpg, ''Apple Tree with Red Berries'', (1902) File:Three Beeches 1905 Paul Ranson.jpg, ''Three Beeches'', (1905)

References

* Frèches-Thory, Claire, & Perucchi-Petry, Ursula, ed.: ''Die Nabis: Propheten der Moderne'', Kunsthaus Zürich & Grand Palais, Paris & Prestel, Munich 1993 (German), (French)

External links

More works by Ranson
@ ArtNet

@ Renoir Fine Art * @ Kilidavid

@ Ariel Art Galleries {{DEFAULTSORT:Ranson, Paul 1861 births 1909 deaths Académie Julian alumni Nabis (art) French Post-impressionist painters 19th-century French painters French male painters 20th-century French painters 20th-century French male artists French male writers Symbolist painters 19th-century French male artists